December 23: On the Road for the Holidays

You’re traveling for the holidays. Airport bars, hotel minibars, a relative’s liquor cabinet. Your usual routine is miles behind you.

Travel can knock recovery off balance. Your meetings are back home. Your sponsor is in a different time zone. Your morning routine is disrupted by early flights or a borrowed bedroom. You’re tired, eating badly and surrounded by unfamiliar triggers. Airports have bars on every concourse. Hotels have minibars. Relatives may not know you’re in recovery, or may not take it seriously.

Psalm 121 was likely sung by travelers on their way up to Jerusalem for the festivals. The road was long and dangerous. Robbers. Heat. Steep paths. And they sang about the God who keeps them. He’ll keep you from all evil. He’ll keep your soul. He’ll keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward and forever.

Going out and coming in. Leaving home and coming back. God is in both. He doesn’t stay behind when you get on the plane.

Still, it’s wise to plan. Before you leave, look up meetings near where you’ll be. Many cities have meetings every day of the holidays, and online meetings are available at almost any hour. Tell your sponsor or a friend your travel dates and set a time to check in. Pack your Bible or a devotional. Keep your morning prayer, even if it’s in a car or a guest room.

At the airport, find a coffee shop instead of a bar. At the hotel, ask them to empty the minibar, or don’t open it. At a relative’s house, know where you’ll go if you need a break. Bring your own drinks. Have an exit plan.

Travel is also a chance for Step Twelve. Someone sitting next to you on a plane may be scared to fly or going home to something hard. A relative may be struggling with their own drinking. Keep your eyes open. You may be exactly the person someone needs to meet.

One thing today

Before your next trip, look up at least one meeting where you’ll be, in person or online. Save it in your phone. Set a check-in time with someone back home.

A prayer

Lord, keep my going out and my coming in. Go with me on this trip. Protect me from old temptations in new places. Keep me sober, keep me close, and bring me home safe. Amen.

Practicing principles on the road is part of Step Twelve.

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